1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to baby carriers and, more particularly, to a baby carrier which can assume various infant carrying positions and which doubles as a seat harness for securing the infant to different types of chairs not provided with appropriate and safe infant attachment harnesses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Throughout the years, various infant carriers have been proposed for carrying an infant on an adult's back or in front thereof or for carrying the infant like in a basket suspended from an adult's hands, and for attaching a child to a standard "adult" chair and also in a shopping cart, or the like.
For instance, French Patent Publication No. 2,662,339 published on Nov. 21, 1991 in the name of Schlegel and Canadian Patent No. 860,155 issued to Aukerman on Jan. 5, 1971 each teach a baby carrier with two elongated shoulder straps that can be inserted into a pair of buckles for carrying a child on a person's back.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,088 issued on Oct. 1, 1985 to Reding discloses a child carrier and sling consisting of two straps with two loops to form a cradle to support the child in a sitting position around the adult's waist, as seen in FIG. 3 of the Patent.
British Patent Publication No. 1,560,260 published on Jan. 30, 1980 in the name of Mothercare Limited discloses a baby carrying sling worn around an adult's shoulder for receiving the child in a sitting position.
East German Patent Document No. DD-144,648 published on Oct. 29 ,1980 in the name of Teschner et al. discloses a vehicle safety harness for infants which consists of a flexible basket-like container to be positioned on an adult's lap and a shoulder strap for the adult as well as a cover for the child.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 332,865 issued on Feb. 2, 1993 to Wilmink and U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,056 issued on Jan. 5, 1988 to Carmichael both disclose an infant carrying bag.
Canadian Patent No. 988,475 issued on May 4, 1976 to Gerico, Inc., U.S. Design Pat. No. 176,433 issued on Dec. 20, 1955 to Stringini, U.S. Pat. No. 2,411,721 issued on Nov. 26, 1946 to Hancock et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,914 issued on Jun. 27, 1967 to Abram all disclose various infant carriers including shoulder straps and a basket suspended therefrom for receiving a child in a sitting position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,057 issued on Apr. 30, 1991 to Peruzza et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,558 issued on Sep. 4, 1979 to Schroeder and U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,925 issued on Jul. 19, 1988 to Knittel all disclose various infant carriers including shoulder straps and a basket suspended therefrom for receiving a child in a resting, breast-feeding or sleeping position.
British Patent Publication No. 2,253,988 published on Sep. 30, 1992 in the name of Smith and U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,047 issued on Dec. 10, 1991 to Cordisco each disclose a baby carrier comprising a shoulder strap and a receptacle suspended therefrom adapted to carry the infant in various positions, such as sitting and sleeping positions in front of the adult and a sitting position on the adult's back.
Canadian Patent No. 1,167,426 issued on May 15, 1984 to Gougeon and Canadian Patent Application No. 2,078,015 laid-open on Mar. 17, 1993 in the name of Hooi disclose respectively a chair suspended from an adult's shoulder for carrying handicapped children and a spring suspended hammock type infant cradle.